The Return
by GirlWithAPearl6
Summary: Rusty left something behind... and so did Casey. Rating for language & later chapters
1. The Turn Around

**The Return **

**A/N : **sorry this chapter is so short, I'll try to have a longer one up later tonight. R&R please!

** Disclaimer: **Disclaimer. That one word says it all. And if you're still having trouble with it's meaning, let me spell it out for you. I do not own any part of the TV show Greek. Better?

"Oh, Shit!" yells my brother Rusty, and I slam on the brakes.

"What is your problem?" I yell back. We were already three hours into our trip, almost at the hotel we would be staying at overnight.

"I left my laptop in the dorm room! We have to go back! It has all sorts of important stuff on it!" I could feel my teeth begin to grind as the frustration with my little brother began to build.

"Rusty," I said angrily. "You've got to be more responsible! We can't just turn around n – "

"Casey, lecturing me is not going to help me get my laptop back!" Rusty cut in. "And besides, I think I left my cell phone, too."

Grrr. I really didn't want to turn back. I looked at Rusty for a long time, and I have to admit, as annoying as he is, he's actually pretty cute.

"Oh, all right," I said. "But if we do this, we're not stopping at the hotel. You'll have to drive for the rest of the night. Okay?"

"Thank you thank you thank you!" he said in a rush.

I sighed, turned the car around, and started the long drive back.


	2. The Game

**A/N**:** Hey, here's a longer chapter for you, hope you enjoy it. It's a bit rough right now, but stick with it; I promise it'll get better. R&R, as always!**

**Disclaimer: is there really any need…?**

We had ridden in silence for hours, and I was beginning to get bored with looking at the scenery. I decided to play a game, one that Ashley and I used to play when we were bored in ZBZ meetings. To play, you look around the room or wherever you happen to be, and pick out an item or object. Then you name the first person that comes to mind. For example, if I happened to see a sign with the word 'bitch' on it in bold letters, I'd probably think of Rebecca Logan. But that's beside the point.

I craned my neck to look out the window. I was sitting in the back, since Rusty was driving and he insisted on putting his stupid boom box on the passenger seat. Right now, I was being treated to a delightful rendition of 'Open My Eyes' played by Dale's band. ("Dale and I turned into such good friends," said Rusty when I asked him about it. "He made this CD for me so I'd remember him over the break.") Two words. Gag. Me.

So anyway, back to the game. The first thing I saw was a tree. Yup, I know, that's original. The tree bark was a dark, chocolaty brown, smooth and rough at the same time. And the first thing I thought of was Cappie.

Cappie's hair, to be more precise. I used to love to run my fingers through it while we were sitting in his room watching 'Saved By The Bell' or eating pie. Or making out. Or doing…other things.

The point is that I really loved his hair, among other things. I really loved _him._ I honestly don't know what happened to us. I've tried so hard to blame our break up on Frannie or ZBZ, but the only justifiable reason is that _I _was too immature and self conscious to do what I knew was right.

I was so in love with Cappie that it hurt. I would see him across the street, and my whole body would tremble with the need to be in his arms. I loved Evan too, of course, but ours was a simple, safe love, while Cappie and I loved with a raging passion. Our love was the opposite of simple. It was so nonsensical and weird and confusing and _wonderful_ that it left us both gasping for air and wanting more at the same time.

I would always love both Evan and Cappie. But I knew in my heart that I had to move on and let both of them go. Or did I?

Oh, and by the way. The next thing I saw out the window was a dead squirrel in the road. The first person I thought of was Evan. Were the Gods trying to tell me something?


	3. The Difference Between Packing & Baggage

**A/N: Thanks to the reviewers who've reviewed so far! I've a class in like 30 min, so I'll try to crank one out as quickly as possible. Reviews are what keep me going!**

**Disclaimer: I disclaim.**

As we pulled into Greek Row, I felt a tingle. It spread all the way from my toes to the ends of my hair as we passed the Kappa Tau, Omega Chi, and finally the Zeta Beta house. Here, they grew stronger.

"Rusty, stop!" I cried. He swerved a little before pulling up next to the side of the rode.

"If this is payback for making you stop earlier, I'm really sorry," he said sheepishly.

"No, let me out here," I said, trying to keep a straight face.

"Are you alright?" Rusty asked nervously. "'Cause if you're gonna puke, do it behind the car, where I cant see it. I _hate_ it when people puke!"

"Relax," I said, irritated. "I'm not sick, there's something I want to do. And anyway, if I was sick, wouldn't you want me to get out of the car right away instead of sitting here talking to me?"

"Okay, okay," said Rusty, relieved. "I just wanted to make sure." He unlocked the car and I stepped out onto the curb.

Rusty leaned out the window. "Do you want me to wait here?"

"No," I said. "Go get your stuff. I might be a while." And with that I strode across the front lawn of the Zeta Beta Zeta house.

When I knocked on the front door, Ashleigh opened it.

"Case, omigod!" she squealed. "I thought you had left already!"

"I had," I replied, gathering her and pulling her into a hug. "But there were just a few things I needed to do. Plus, Rusty forgot some stuff in his dorm room," I said sheepishly.

Ashleigh rolled her eyes at this. She has a younger brother too, so she knows how irresponsible and annoying they can be sometimes.

"I 'm leaving tomorrow," she said. "So I have to pack. But you can help me! C'mon, it'll be so much fun!" Squealing in excitement, she pulled me up the stairs to our room. When we got there she leaped onto the bed and I surveyed my surroundings.

"Jeez, Ash," I said. "I seem to remember this room a lot neater than it is now." And it was true; there were clothes all over the bed and the floor, a lamp overturned in the corner, and a big black smear on the ceiling.

"How did you manage to make all this mess by yourself?" I asked. "And why is there a big black smear on the ceiling?" I was truly flummoxed.

"Well, you know, packing always gets messy. And as for the smear on the ceiling, there was a fly."

"Umm…what?" I asked, completely nonplussed.

"There was a fly on the ceiling, and I didn't want to touch it with my bare hands, because that would be disgusting." Ashleigh flipped her hair. "So I threw a shoe at it. You know, those cute black flats with the bows? Anyway, the fly got away, but the shoe scuffed the ceiling."

"Um, right," I said. I wanted to change the subject. This discussion was giving me a headache. "So anyway, what else has been going on here?"

Ashleigh's face darkened. "Frannie has been to visit a few times. She wanted to know where you were. I guess she didn't know you'd already left. She seemed pretty mad. If I were you, I'd avoid her for as long as you possibly can."

"That won't be a problem. Frannie isn't coming back next year. I heard her tell Rebecca Logan right before I left. She seemed pretty set in her decision," I began to pick clothes up off the floor and fold them, before placing them into Ashleigh's suitcase.

"Oh yeah, Case? Have you heard about Rebecca?" Ashleigh seemed worried for some reason.

"No," I said. "What has she done now?"

"Well," Ashleigh began, "Technically it's not some_thing_ as much as some_one_. Are you sure you want to hear this?"

"Yes," I said. "Just spit it out, Ash!"

"She went to Aspen with Evan," Ashleigh said in a rush.

"That's fine with me," I said. "Evan and I are done. I don't care where he goes or who he goes with anymore."

"There's more," said Ash, her eyes already glinting with apology. "The night before she left with Evan, she slept with Cappie."

I let my breath out in a whoosh and sat down heavily on the bed.


	4. Broken Hearts And Cell Phones

**A/N: Hey, here's the fourth chapter! Please review! I really love to hear what you have to say! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own **_**Greek**_**, nor any of the characters, seeing as slavery was outlawed about 40 years ago.**

"Case?" Ashleigh asked softly as she plopped down beside me on the bed. "Are you all right?"

"Yeah, um, I've actually gotta go," I said, distractedly.

"See!" Ashleigh yells right into my ear. "This is exactly why I didn't want to tell you in the first place! You're so…sensitive about things!"

"What?" I yelled back, hurt. "You cried for _days_ after you found out Calvin was gay!"

"Okay, okay," said Ash quickly. "No need to bring that up again. That's completely beside the point. The point is that you shouldn't be too upset about this. I mean, _everyone_ knows that Cappie's a total man-slut. But it's _your _fault he's so easy!"

My mouth fell open in shock. _"What?"_

"You didn't know?" said Ashleigh, sneering. "The only reason he sleeps with all those girls is because he misses you! You broke his heart when you dumped him, Case, and I guess having sex helps him forget about that. It's weird, but Cappie's always been a bit…unconventional."

I could feel my face begin to burn with anger over Ashleigh's condescending tone and embarrassment over my complete stupidity. "I…I don't believe you!" I said. I then proceeded to walk out of the room (slamming the door loudly behind me, of course) and exit the ZBZ house. And then I ran.

I didn't stop until I reached a large oak tree at the end of Greek Row. I sat around the back of the tree where no one could see me, and cried. Huge, fat tears rolled out of my eyes and streamed down my cheeks, until I was completely enveloped in my sorrow. My whole body shook with heaving sobs, wrenched from my gut like an anchor from the bottom of the sea.

I stayed like that for a long time. When I was done, I wiped my streaming eyes and nose on my sleeve and fumbled for my cell phone. I dialed Rusty, and waited. And waited, and waited, and waited.

"Why isn't he answering!' I said aloud, frustrated.

I knew that Rusty was busy, probably hanging out with Dale or trying to locate all of his belongings. But I really needed someone to talk to. So I dialed the first number that came to mind.

The phone rang, once, twice…and then…

Cappie's voice, smooth and deep, sounded from the earpiece. "Hello? Hello? Is anyone there? Casey? Is that you?"

I did the only sensible thing I could think of. I hung up and flung the phone into the street, where it was promptly crushed by an SUV carrying a bunch of Tri Pi's. Crap, I thought. But seeing the Tri Pi's go by gave me a good idea.

I stood up and brushed the leaves off my butt before walking around the tree and stepping back onto the sidewalk. I headed toward the Tri Pi house. Because if there was ever a time to get drunk, it was now.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

I knocked on the door warily. From the outside, the Tri Pi house looked like shit. Seriously, just by looking at it you could tell that a bunch of chip-eating, gas-guzzling sluts lived there. I shuddered to think what the inside looked like.

A pudgy looking girl answered the door. She had on a too small tank top, light pink, with the words 'Queen Bitch' written on it in rhinestones. Honestly, someone should tell this girl that she's not Britney Spears.

"Um, hi?" she said. "What do you want?"

"That depends," I began, "On whether you have Vodka or Tequila."

The girl grinned. "Come on in," she said.

So I did.


	5. Sweatshirts And Revelations

**A/N: Here's chapter 5, R&R plzz. Sorry for the wait (:**

**Disclaimer: 'tis not mine, not mine at all. (sob).**

"Sweetie," said not-Britney, "I think you need to go home now. You're pretty wasted."

"No, I'm not. I'm fine," I slurred. As you've probably guessed, I was drunk. But despite this fact, I felt pretty good. The Tri Pi house wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It was actually kind of nice inside. ("Sweetie, we have a reputation to uphold," said not-Britney when I asked her why the house looked so cheap from the outside) There were crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, and a spiral staircase that led to the bedrooms. In fact, the only difference between the atmosphere in this house and the one in ZBZ were the posters of naked male (and some female) models that adorned the walls.

I was lying across the red felt couch, next to some unidentifiable white stains that I could probably identify if I wasn't so drunk. And I was actually having an okay time. The Tri Pi girls weren't as bad as I thought. And they certainly weren't chip-eating. Nearly all of them are anorexic.

They were good listeners, too. We sat there for hours reminiscing about the good old days, when boys had cooties and we painted our nails Princess Pink.

I found out some pretty interesting stuff about them. I almost left when I realized that at least 90 of them had slept with Cappie at some point, but they assured me that it was at some random mixer and didn't mean a thing. These girls were just extra slutty versions of the ZBZ girls.

But anyway.

I opened my eyes to see all four of not-Britney standing over me with her arms crossed.

"Really, sweetie. You need to leave now. We are _not_ gonna clean up your puke."

I could see that not-Britney was serious, and I am not one to stick around where I'm not wanted, so I stumbled of the couch and took my leave.

"Bye, Britney!" I shouted through the door.

"Who's Britney?" I heard back. "My name's Tiffany!" Oops.

Oh well. It's not like we were going to be life long friends or anything.

I grabbed onto the railing to steady myself before starting down the stone steps. I meandered crookedly across the front lawn and tripped onto the sidewalk before realizing that I had left my sweatshirt inside.

I stumbled back up to the door and knocked loudly. "Hey, Britney! I think I left my sweatshirt in there! Open up!"

And open up she did.

"For the last time, sweetie, the name's Tiffany! And as for your sweatshirt, Heather puked on it five minutes ago! So get out of here! And stop calling me Britney!"

I giggled. "Okay! Thanks for your help! I'll see you around!"

As she closed the door I heard her mutter something that sounded close to 'When hell freezes over.'

Huh. Wonder what that was about?

I walked back to the sidewalk sweatshirtless. It was pretty cold outside, so I figured I should go get another one.

On the way back to ZBZ, I spotted Calvin sitting by himself on a bench. He looked really sad about something, and being a curious person by default, (the drunkenness might have had something to do with it also) I decided to investigate.

"Calvin!" I called. He looked up.

"Oh. Hey Casey," he said. For some reason, he sounded disappointed.

"What's up?" I asked, sitting down next to him on the bench and then sliding closer.

"Are you drunk?" he asked, leaning away from me with a disgusted look on his face.

"Now, why would you just assume something like that?" I asked coyly, sliding even closer.

"Because you are A: hitting on a gay man, and B: your breath reeks!"

"Oh, right," I said, slightly subdued. "I'm just really upset. I'm having guy trouble."

"Join the club. My whole fraternity found out I was gay, and now none of them will talk to me. Or look at me. They act like I have some contagious disease. And Heath hasn't called me in days. My love life is looking pretty bleak right now."

I sighed. That sounded familiar. "Mine, too. Evan dumped me, and then I found out that Cappie had sex with Rebecca freaking _Logan. _If that's not a bleak, I don't know what is."

"Ouch," said Calvin. "That does suck. About Evan, I mean. But do you even like Cappie? It seems so on and off with you guys."

"I don't know. See? That's the problem. I don't _think_ I like Cappie, you know, that way. But if I don't, then why does it bother me so much that he slept with Rebecca?" When I said the words aloud, I realized that they were partially untrue. I _did_ think I liked Cappie like that.

"I'm probably not the best person to ask all this," said Calvin. "I can't even seem to figure out my own problems. All I can say is this. You guys were in love, right? So maybe you never stopped loving each other. I know for a fact that Cappie is carrying a torch for you that could light up New York City during a power outage. And from the looks of it, you're carrying one for him, too."

I looked at him, speechless. Maybe he was right. Maybe Cappie and I were just…meant to be.

"I think," Calvin continued, "That if you're lucky enough to find someone you love that loves you back, you have all you'll ever need."

My eyes filled with tears. Even Calvin looked slightly shell-shocked at this revelation.

"That…that was beautiful," I choked out. "Thank you so much!" And with that, I flung my arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. He patted my back awkwardly.

"Okay, okay," he said uncomfortably. "You need to get some rest. And maybe brush your teeth." He stood up and untangled my arms from around his neck. He sat me back down on the bench. "Are you gonna be alright? Or do you need help getting somewhere?"

"No, I'm fine," I said. "Where are you going to go?"

Calvin paused, thoughtfully. "I'm gonna go find Heath," he said, "And tell him exactly what I just told you."

My eyes sparkled with emotion. "Go get him, tiger!" We high-fived, and he walked away with his head held high.

I sat on the bench for a while longer, just thinking and drinking in the autumn sun. It was maybe an hour later that I realized it was getting chilly again and decided to head back and find Rusty.

I had one last stop to make, though.


	6. IMPORTANT AN

**IMPORTANT A/N : **

**I will be continuing this story. I know I haven't updated lately, I'll try to put another chapter up, but if I don't manage it it's because I have an exchange student here from England, so I'm a little busy! Anyway, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for not updating lately, and also, thanks to all the people who've reviewed!**

**GirlWithAPearl6**


	7. Flattery Will Get You Nowhere

**A/N: again, sorry I haven't updated in soo long. As I said before, I had an English exchange student staying with me for a few weeks. Here's the next chapter, hope you like it! Comments and criticism (hopefully constructive) are more than welcome!**

**Disclaimer: I really really wish I owned Cappie. Sadly I do not own him, or any other part of the show **_**Greek**_

I stumbled along the sidewalk, drunk and shivering. The leaves fluttered down from the trees and tangled into my hair as I made my way to the house. I tripped up the familiar driveway and stumbled up the front steps.

Before I opened the door, I took a deep breath and attempted to collect myself. This was hard, seeing as I was hopelessly wasted and freezing my ass off. Thinking this made me laugh. Probably because I was so nervous. I was sobered (pun shamelessly intended) by the fact that my whole life, from this point forward, could be changed drastically by this very moment. The future I had planned for my self while I was still in grade school could be rendered obsolete by my next move. Was it worth the risk?

Yes, I decided, it was. I brushed my hair out of my face (nearly poking myself in the eye in the process) and set my finger gently on the doorbell. It was now or never. I pressed the button.

My finger slipped, I was shivering so much.

Shit! I broke a nail! On the freaking _doorbell._ This was definitely off to a _fantastic_ start.

I waited, nursing my sore finger. I glared daggers at the offending doorbell, daring it to _ever_ try to break one of _my_ nails again. After a few minutes of waiting and pointless glaring, I finally accepted the fact that no one was coming to the door and slowly descended the steps.

I was on the last step when I heard the door open behind me with a creak. I spun around, startled, to see the grinning face of…..Beaver.

"Oh," he said. "It's _you._" I stared at him, indignant. I might have been drunk, but I could tell when I was being insulted.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean," I asked in what I thought was an intimidating manner, drawing my self up to my full 5'4''.

Beaver suddenly looked confused. "Why are you standing like you have a thorn in your foot?"

Well, then.

Slightly embarrassed, I slouched down further.

"Never you mind," I said with much dignity. "Am I allowed to come in, or what?"

"Are you here to see Cappie?" asked Beaver, with a slightly uncomfortable look on his face. "'Cause I don't think that's a very good idea."

I was puzzled. I climbed back up the steps and tried to see into the house by peering around the door. This had little to no effect, as Beaver was so huge he filled the door frame and made it impossible to see in.

"And so what if I am?" I asked. My answer seemed to confirm his suspicions. Beaver shifted a little, with a slightly conflicted look on his face.

"Look," he began. "I like you, Casey, but I really think seeing Cappie right now is a bad idea."

He must have noticed the look on my face, so he continued.

"See, he's been in really bad shape lately and – " Beaver was interrupted.

I heard a scuffling noise behind the door, and then Cappie's voice, saying; "Beave? Have you seen the windex? Hey, who's at the door?"

In Beaver's struggle to block me from Cappie's view, he must have caught a glimpse. The smile faltered on his face.

"Oh," he said. "It's you."

Honestly. People were _so _flattering today.


	8. A New Side Of An Old Friend

**A/N: Hey, everybody. I'm so sorry that I haven't updated in a while. Floggings will be administered, I promise. Please read and tell me what you think!!!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own any part of the show **_**Greek**_**. Don't believe me? That's your problem. ******

We stared at each other for a few minutes, but it seemed like hours. The whole time Beaver was standing between us with a very interesting look on his face. He cleared his throat and Cappie seemed to snap out of it.

"Uhmm…so, I guess you should come in," he said. "Just wipe your shoes really well before you step on the tile. I mopped for hours this morning." This was very strange. The Cappie I knew could care less about tile…or mopping.

Beaver shot me an accusing look, which I didn't have time to figure out, seeing as I needed to pick my jaw up off the floor. I had stepped into the house, and was halfheartedly scuffing my feet around on the doormat when I really had a look at my surroundings.

The house was completely spotless. The floor was polish and the walls were repainted white. The whole house smelled like a Clorox manufacturing company, but I thought I detected a whiff of …was that _room freshener!?_ The windows were spotless and had little curtains hanging around them. As I stepped further into the house I saw that the cleanliness didn't stop there. The carpets had been washed and vacuumed, and the dog – shaped puke stain was gone from the red leather couch. In fact, the couch wasn't red leather anymore, someone had covered it with a cream colored upholstery.

It was amazing; I couldn't wrap my mind around it. It was like a really clean tornado had hit the Kappa Tau house.

"Wha…what happened?" I said when I managed to find my voice.

Beaver gave me another look. "Cappie gets very…er...domestic, when---"

But Beaver was cut off by Cappie saying, "Why don't we just go up to my room, Casey. We can talk there." He shot Beaver a pointed look. "And Beave can stay down here and make sure the banana bread doesn't burn."

"Banana bread?" I said in disbelief.

"Yes," Cappie said in a very dignified way. "It's in the oven and burnt banana bread really sucks."

I decided it was best to not say anything more on the subject of banana bread, and started up the stairs toward Cappie's bedroom. When I opened the door I gasped. The room was even cleaner than the rest of the house. The bed was made. Even the freaking TV screen was dusted.

"Holy crap," I said. "Cappie, what is going on?"

"I just thought this place could use a little spruce."

"Cut the crap," I said. "You know you can talk to me. What's the matter?" I was thoroughly confused. In all the years I had know Cappie I had never seen him act like this, let alone know the meaning of the word 'spruce'.

He sat down heavily on the bed and I went and sat down next to him. I leaned toward him in what I hoped was a comforting way. He leaned away from me. Huh.

"Are you drunk?" he asked me.

Oh well. He was going to figure it out sooner or later.

"Yes, I little bit," I admitted. "But I'm still a good listener."

"There's just so much going on lately," he said sadly. "I'm so stressed and lonely and---" But he stopped there.

My breath caught in my throat. "Cappie," I began cautiously. "Why are you lonely?"

We stared at each other for a moment, neither one of us breathing. And then he put his hands on either side of my head and drew my face towards his.

The kiss started out gently, but then Cappie changed and started kissing me roughly, more passionately, and I changed and began kissing him back just as hard. He eased us into a lying down position and climbed on top of me, exploring every inch of my mouth with his tongue.

It was so comforting, so familiar, it was pure bliss. Sparks flew behind my closed eyes and my hands tangled in his hair. All too soon the kiss was over. By the time I regained my composure and opened my eyes, Cappie was across the room with his hands over his face.

"I'm sorry. Oh my god, I'm so sorry," he said. "This was a huge mistake. You should go."


End file.
